The purpose of these pro se web pages is to provide the pro se filer, (someone who represents himself or herself without a lawyer), with access to some information about the bankruptcy process and information about some local procedures that you must know. Individuals appearing as debtors (including husbands and wives filing jointly), creditors or other interested parties before this court do not have to be represented by an attorney. However, corporations must be represented by counsel, except in certain limited instances. Rule 9010-1(B) - Notice of Appearance).

Because there are many complicated issues that may come up in a bankruptcy case, individuals may wish to hire an attorney who is allowed to practice in this bankruptcy court.

If you do choose to represent yourself as a pro se filer and go through the bankruptcy case without a lawyer, you must follow all federal and local court laws and requirements and use the federal and local required forms that are available from the clerk’s office or the court's web site for filing documents. DO NOT use any other forms; they may be from a different court or may be old forms that cannot be used in this court since they have been replaced by updated versions.

The judges, judges’ staff, clerk, or clerk’s staff are not permitted to provide legal advice or speak with you in an ex parte communication (which means without the other side present).

Note: These pro se web pages do not contain all information about requirements applicable to the United States Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of Florida, so please review all the pages of this court's site www.flsb.uscourts.gov for additional information.

Also, please see the pro se web pages of the United States Courts web site for additional information at   www.uscourts.gov/bankruptcycourts/prose.html.

The following government website has information on learning how to save, invest, and manage your money better.  www.mymoney.gov